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If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. And if you let go completely, you will have complete peace. - Ajahn Chah
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With the fall season starting and temperatures dropping I decided to buy a bag of thick, warm socks as give aways to homeless men who live on the streets near my house. My plan is to offer two pairs of socks along with a ten dollar bill. I will do this frequently over the winter.
Yesterday I encountered a very nice homeless man and his dog “Little Man.” Though Little Man is a pit bull breed, he was extremely gentle, happy and well looked after including wearing a nice winter dog sweater. The homeless gentleman said I’d stopped to speak with him months earlier and had given him some money at that time, though I did not recall the visit.
As he indicated it had been months since I last saw him, I asked where he had been and the man told me he and his dog went to the Gulf of Mexico area, Padre Island. Asking how he managed to get himself and his dog there, he said: “I rode an electric bicycle with a two wheel child carrier behind me for Little Man.” He explained someone had given him a bike; that he search various dumpsters finding a carrier for Little Man and coming across a small electric motor which he somehow hooked up to his bicycle.
From Tulsa (Oklahoma) where I live to Padre Island (Texas) is 700 miles. He explained it “took a while” to get there but the two of them enjoyed the trip. I left that encounter deeply impressed and inspired by his ingenuity, commitment, and discipline to make the trip, using that mode of transportation.
The homeless man’s determination provides an exceptional example of this Buddhist wisdom from Daisaku Ikeda: “Even if you have the tendency to make a determination but only stick to it for two or three days, it is OK as long as you keep refreshing that determination.”
- Victor M. Parachin
(please feel free to re-produce and share this on your social media)
Yesterday I encountered a very nice homeless man and his dog “Little Man.” Though Little Man is a pit bull breed, he was extremely gentle, happy and well looked after including wearing a nice winter dog sweater. The homeless gentleman said I’d stopped to speak with him months earlier and had given him some money at that time, though I did not recall the visit.
As he indicated it had been months since I last saw him, I asked where he had been and the man told me he and his dog went to the Gulf of Mexico area, Padre Island. Asking how he managed to get himself and his dog there, he said: “I rode an electric bicycle with a two wheel child carrier behind me for Little Man.” He explained someone had given him a bike; that he search various dumpsters finding a carrier for Little Man and coming across a small electric motor which he somehow hooked up to his bicycle.
From Tulsa (Oklahoma) where I live to Padre Island (Texas) is 700 miles. He explained it “took a while” to get there but the two of them enjoyed the trip. I left that encounter deeply impressed and inspired by his ingenuity, commitment, and discipline to make the trip, using that mode of transportation.
The homeless man’s determination provides an exceptional example of this Buddhist wisdom from Daisaku Ikeda: “Even if you have the tendency to make a determination but only stick to it for two or three days, it is OK as long as you keep refreshing that determination.”
- Victor M. Parachin
(please feel free to re-produce and share this on your social media)
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You have to make time. There is enough time. You work eight hours a day. Some people then say: I have no time to practice. But instead they go to a bar, sit front of the television, go to the movies, or do other things. If you really want to practice, then you have to give up those things. It is not necessary to cut yourself off from life completely, but you must slowly eliminate distraction. — Jetsün Kushok Chimey Luding
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You should take care not to push any practice too hard, lest you suffer resentment and burnout. - Bhikkhu Cintita
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Broken plans are a representation of death. Something you relied upon went away. An assumption becomes invalid, a cherished thing breaks, a relationship ends. Pay attention to your emotions as you watch your plans die. Pay attention to your emotions as you begin to watch your plans die—with acceptance. - Margaret Meloni
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We live in a very complex and highly interdependent world in which the consequences of the simplest action run very deep, playing themselves out almost forever. - Bhikkhu Cintita
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If you do what is unwholesome, do not repeat it or take pleasure in making it a habit. An unwholesome habit will cause nothing but suffering. If you do what is wholesome, keep repeating it and take pleasure in making it a habit. A wholesome habit will cause nothing but joy. - Buddha
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Overly anticipating the future and becoming attached to specific outcomes contribute to your suffering. - Margaret Meloni
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To talk about old age as an impediment is an excuse to be lazy. - Vanda Scaravelli
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Buddhism takes the working of heart and mind to issue. External appearances are of no concern. The heart, abandoning home and casting off desires, is without attachment. This is what is taught as the superior practice. - Shonin